In a world with an intellectual history of seven thousand years behind it, where do Pakistanis stand, what are they doing, what do they aspire to be, and what ought they to be doing? This Blog takes Notes of all of that ...

Friday, January 25, 2013

State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 10: PAC for abolishing doling out plots to bureaucrats and agricultural land to generals

ISLAMABAD:
While giving “Plot Amnesty” to those top bureaucrats and judges who got
more than two plots in the past under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive
Package, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended abolishing the existing
plot policy by suggesting to the government to cancel the summary for
awarding plots to top bureaucrats under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive
package in future, abolishing all the special quotas, including of generals,
judges, journalists except widows, martyrs and (disabled) persons and no more
agricultural land allotments to the generals, judges and politicians except the
families of martyrs.

Under
the Prime Minister Special Incentive Package that was initiated during the
tenure of a former prime minister, the top grade bureaucrats were given the
plots on their promotion in grade 22.

The
PAC met here Wednesday (December 19, 2012) with its Chairman Nadeem Afzal
Gondal in the chair. The meeting examined the plot policy, and following the
briefing from the Ministry of Housing and Works as well from the
representatives of the provincial government, the PAC chairman announced
six-point recommendations to the government to end the distribution of plots
among the influential and privileged class of the country that hold more than
two plots.

The
PAC recommended the abolishment of all the special quotas for judges, generals,
journalists except widows, martyrs and disabled persons. The PAC recommended
the government for withdrawing the summary regarding Prime Minister’s Special
Incentive Package and cancelling it.

It
recommended the government to end the practice of allotment of agriculture land
to the generals, politicians and judges except the families of the martyrs. The
PAC recommended the inquiry against all those who submit the affidavits
including bureaucrats and judges for the allotment of the plots, and in future
the inquiry should be made on the authenticity of the affidavit for the
allotment of plots under the government schemes.

The
committee directed the abolishment of the plots given by the Capital
Development Authority (CDA) to the deputationists and directed that no
depututionist will be liable to get the plots from the department of deputation
in the future.

The
PAC directed the Ministry of Housing and Works to prepare the database of the
plots allotted to the officers either by the federal government or provincial
governments and place the list on its website.

The
committee recommended the government for abolishing the transfer of the plots
of the bureaucrats, who were allocated the plots under the old-age policy in
the D-8 or D-12 sector but transferred their plots in the posh sectors of the
Islamabad.

Earlier,
the PAC expressed its displeasure to the chief secretary Sindh and provincial
secretary of Sindh for Housing for not presenting the list of the federal
officers who got plots by the provincial government.

The
PAC in its meeting last week directed the provincial governments to provide the
list of the officers who got plots from the provincial governments also. During
the meeting, Additional Provincial Secretary Sindh, who representing the Sindh,
did not provide the details to the committee and even refused to give any time
frame to provide the list.

On
the non-provision of the list of federal government officers who got plots in
Sindh, the PAC summoned the chief secretary Sindh with the report within
10-days. The PAC also directed to convey its displeasure to the prime minister,
chief minister Sindh and secretary Establishment Division over the attitude of
the Sindh government for not compliance with the committee’s directives.

Additional
chief secretary Balochistan told the PAC that Balochistan government had given
plots to 19 bureaucrats of the federal government and four judges through
Quetta Development Authority.

Provincial
Secretary Housing of Punjab sought a 10-day time from the PAC to furnish the
list of the officers who got plots by the Punjab government. Additional chief
secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the PAC that the provincial government
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not allot any plot to the federal government
officers. The additional chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa further told the
committee that the provincial government had abolished the quota of governor
and chief minister for the allotments of the plots.

The Blogger

The blogger cherishes a cosmopolitan spirit; he is a moralist; a rationalist; a philosopher; a political philosopher; he believes in Classical Liberalism, as a Theory of Conduct.
He has substantially contributed to the founding of the first free market think tank of Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute.
He is a writer who wrote / published dozens of articles on a variety of issues, and is author of 4 books.
He wrote / published short-stories in Punjabi, a regional language of Pakistan.
He composes poetry both in Urdu and Punjabi, and has already published one collection.